


the folly of love is falling in love

by IvyPrincess



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 08:47:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24966949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyPrincess/pseuds/IvyPrincess
Summary: youth is bittersweet, but it should never be regretted.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno, Mark Lee & Na Jaemin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	the folly of love is falling in love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ivoriia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivoriia/gifts).



> just some very rough writing practice as i try to regain the feeling of writing softer things aka wifi

A loud clap comes from the front of the classroom. “Yo!” All the students turn to face the only teacher in school young enough to get away with such a cheesy greeting. “I have an announcement to make!”

Mr. Lee, or Mark, as he insisted his students call him, grinned at his senior class. “I’m getting married this summer, and my husband will be getting transferred to Seoul, so this will be my last month at this school.” 

There is silence for one short, lingering breath, before the class erupts.

“What, are you serious sir?!”

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend!”

“Stupid, you ditched when Mark was telling us ab—”

“Wait! This month’s already almost over!”

“No way, what’s he like?”

Jeno elbows Renjun, who hisses irritably. “I didn’t know Mark was engaged, did you?”

Renjun hums absently as he erases the jagged line Jeno caused, eyes narrowing as he gazes in a certain overly exuberant classmate’s direction.

Their homeroom teacher’s announcement spreads like wildfire in such a small school, and Jeno heaves a sigh of relief as he escapes to the rooftop, away from all those sobbing girls and the mindless chatter. He’s sad, too, of course. Mark was the most encouraging teacher he’s ever had, but obviously his soon-to-be husband came first.

Renjun was off in the library again, and Chenle didn’t have the same lunch period, so Jeno eats alone, at peace with the sunshine and his sandwich until he notices a lone figure leaning against the railing at the far end of the rooftop.

“Yo, Jaemin!” He calls out, striding over to stand next to him. He’d recognize that pink hair anywhere, the only student to somehow charm his way out of a punishment for disobeying the dress code. Although, maybe there was something unsettling about the way Jaemin doesn’t even turn to greet him, that characteristic brightness gone for a moment.But when Jeno glances to his side for a closer look, the other boy still has that customary shit-eating grin, so he thinks nothing of starting up a conversation.

“Man, that was a surprise today, wasn’t it?” Jeno remarks, licking the last of the crumbs off his thumb. “Marriage… I can’t even imagine getting married.”

“I know, right?”

“Next year will be so weird without Mark as our homeroom teacher.” Jeno scrunches up his nose at the thought. “Imagine having to be formal again.”

“Yep, yep, and he was such a good teacher, too.”

“Think we’ll ever get married like that?” Jeno ponders, looking up at the fluffy clouds drifting by.

“Hmm, dunno. But that’s not something you have to worry about, right?” Jeno frowns in confusion, but Jaemin isn’t finished, beaming at him. “I trust in your ability to live in a big house and have lots and lots of beautiful grandbabies with Renjun.”

“Jaemin!” Jeno splutters, blushing furiously at the (admittedly wonderful) thought. “You can’t just say that!”

Jaemin shrugs nonchalantly. “It’s not like the rest of us don’t have eyes.” He glances at Jeno from the corner of his eye, camera-ready smile sweetening into something a little more genuine at the sigh Jeno heaves out again.

“Yeesh… This is so unfair,” Jeno groans. “Why can you tease me about him all the time but I still don’t even know who you like?”

Jaemin shrugs again. “You just haven’t guessed correctly yet. I told you I’d tell you if you got it right.”

Jeno slumps over the railing, enjoying the coolness of the metal digging into his cheek. “Fine,” he grumbles, racking his brain for someone he hasn’t guessed before. They’ve already gone through most of the girls and guys in their year, Jaemin being a pretty popular guy in his own right, but a familiar name pops into his mind. There’s no way it’s right, but… “Mark-seonsaengnim,” he finally replies offhandedly.

“Ding! We have a winner!”

Jeno pauses. Digests. Whips around to face Jaemin, eyes wide. “Seriously?”

Jaemin nods cheerfully, toothy grin stretched from cheek to cheek. “Yep! It’s going to be lonely around here after he leaves.”

Jeno is still reeling. “Since when?”

“Hmm… since our freshman year?” Jaemin wonders, one finger under his chin. “Like love at first sight.”

Jeno stares blankly into the distance. “How did I never notice? Although I guess you never made it obvious…”

Jaemin laughs, the pity audible in his voice. “Well, you can be kind of oblivious, can’t you, Jeno? Especially to anything that isn’t Renjun.”

Jeno flushes at the reminder of his one-track mind but soldiers on bravely. “So are you going to tell him how you feel before he leaves?”

Jaemin snorts. “Of course not. Mark’s getting married, and he’s our teacher. Besides, if I said anything now, it’d only cause him trouble.” He reads Jeno’s upset expression. “What, do you think I’ll regret it later if I don’t tell him? That’d be so selfish of me.”

“Well, yeah,” Jeno allows. “But…”

Jaemin claps him on the shoulder. “Really, it’s fine, Jeno. It’s a good experience to have.” But there’s something brittle in his smiles, and Jeno wonders how long he’s been hiding this fragile heart. “I’ve decided to view this tale of unrequited love as just another bitter page in the story of my youth.” He turns away to face the city again, closing his eyes against the mild breeze. “I’ll just keep this stored away in the corner of my heart. It sucks, I won’t lie, but I can accept it.”

Jeno continues to stare at Jaemin’s serene expression. “You know, sometimes, I just get this feeling.”

“What do you mean?”

Jeno struggles to find the right words. “You play it cool a lot when something happens, and yeah, it usually goes over my head, but sometimes, I just get this feeling that you’re lying.”

Jaemin doesn’t face him again, but he stills, so Jeno knows he’s listening.

“Like when you injured your back in middle school and got hospitalized, you had the same face on.”

Jaemin exhales lightly, not quite a laugh, not quite a sigh. “Being childhood friends is a scary thing.”


End file.
